Certain foods have become attached, over the years, to certain holidays

Thanksgiving — turkey

Halloween — pumpkins

Fourth of July — hot dogs

Valentine’s Day — chocolates

Columbus Day has never been attached to any particular food. But the Americans of Italian Heritage Council, which runs the annual Columbus Cup Golf and Bocce Tournament at Bellewood Country Club, has done its best to attach all types of Italian foods to the annual holiday.

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As part of the organization’s all-day feast — with a bit of golf and bocce squeezed in between — the Americans of Italian Heritage Council has presented its Italian Recipe of the Year.

This year the event takes place on Monday, Oct. 8 and another sellout crowd is expected.

The idea is to present one of the “old world” foods, that sustained Italian immigrants in their early years of living in America, as a featured dish of the day.

The mouth-watering presentation serves double-duty — not only adding to the succulent feast, but also preserving some of the heritage that erodes with the passage of time.

“This day is as much about preserving Italian heritage as it is about the golf and the bocce,” explains Americans of Italian Heritage president Al DeGennaro. “Some of these dishes were born out of necessity during the Depression. Others are time-honored recipes that were brought from the Old Country.”

They warm the heart, as much as they warm the stomach.

Past featured Recipes of the Year at the Columbus Cup include: Greens and Beans (Minestra), Chicken Cacciatore, Eggplant Parmigiana, Riso al Forno and Cavatelli.

This year’s Recipe of the Year is a time-honored staple of the Italian dinner table — lasagna.

But, an immediate problem arises with this featured dish. Ask 20 different Italian chefs and you will get 20 different ways to make this combination of flat pasta and many different ingredients.

So, to make things even more complicated, we chose the recipe of Hatfield’s Adelina (Lyn) Rossanese, wife of Judge Maurino Rossanese.

Her recipe contains a couple of ingredients that will not be found in anyone else’s lasagna recipe.

“But it is, without a doubt, the best lasagna I have ever tasted,” said Frank Caiola, vice-president of the Americans of Italian Heritage Council. “I find the slightly different flavor to be interesting.”

Rossanese had the recipe handed down to her from her father, Rafael, who grew up in South Philadelphia as the second-youngest of 18 children.

By the time he came along, he had to learn to fend for himself ... and that included cooking.

His Italian-born parents were from Naples and the family lasagna recipe includes two very different ingredients — sliced pepperoni and shredded beef, instead of ground beef.

“I thought this recipe for lasagna was totally normal,” explained Rossanese. “Then I found out it was quite different from what everyone else made. When I talked to them about mine, they looked at me like I was crazy. But my family doesn’t want me to make it any other way. I make it four or five times a year, for all the typical holidays.”

With the help of the chef at Bellewood CC, and the recipe from Rossanese, it will be part of the Columbus Day celebration on Oct. 8.

LASAGNA A LA RAFAEL

Recipe and Tradition Preserved by Lyn Rossanese

Sauce:

1 to 2 pounds of top of the round beef … brown beef in large stock pot

Leave meat in pot and add:

28 oz.can of “Cento” whole tomatoes (squeeze tomatoes by hand)

28 oz. can of “Cento” crushed tomatoes

12 oz. can of tomato paste

12 oz. can of water

6 large cloves of garlic, finely minced

3 tablespoons oregano

2 or 3 bay leaves

1 large onion minced

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 cup pure olive oil

1 Large stick of “Bradford “ pepperoni skinned/ sliced

Bring sauce to boil

Lower heat to a slow simmer for two hours stirring frequently so as not to burn

Beef should be cooked well enough to shred

Filling:

Two-pound container of “Maggio” whole milk Ricotta cheese Place the ricotta cheese in a fine mesh strainer to drain any water

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

One cup of fresh parsley chopped finely

3 egg yolks

One 4 -cup package of shredded mozzarella cheese (reserve one cup for top)

Blend all above ingredients

Assemble Lasagna:

One large Lasagna Pan

Two, one-pound packages of lasagna noodles

Cook according to package directions, one pound at a time.

When noodles are cooked and water is strained, place noodles in cold water bath.

When thoroughly cooled, place noodles on paper towels to dry excess water.

In a large bowl separate meat from sauce, set bowl of meat aside.

Place two ladles of tomato sauce in lasagna pan.

Begin to layer the lasagna. Place three lasagna noodles in pan.

Place a layer of cheese mixture then small amount of sauce; then a layer lasagna noodles.

Place a layer of meat (pepperoni and shredded beef) then a small amount of sauce.

Place a layer lasagna noodles, then a layer of cheese mixture then small amount of sauce.

Continue layering until pan is full. The last layer should be lasagna noodles.